Neurophysiology
Pain is often considered as an alarm bell that warns us of potential or real damage.
Neuropathic pain is a special case, in which the damage, frequently irreversible, strikes the very system of pain perception. In these cases, the alarm bell is blocked and just goes on ringing.
Neuropathic pain is a very important issue in neurology in that it is frequently incapacitating and presents difficulties for clinical management. It is universally recognised as one of the painful conditions most difficult to treat.
In recent years various novelties in the diagnostic and therapeutic field have aroused particular interest.
Among the newly-introduced instrumental tests are the laser-evoked potentials (LEP), which are very important in view of the possibility of documenting in applicational terms alterations to the nociceptive system that could not otherwise be recorded.